Chapter 3: The Pit of Love
Cunha had become Emperor. He had taken control of the Emperor's forces, secured the loyalty of the Lords, and taken the reigns of the Realm's new religion. But he was still far from secure. There were still forces in Aridor not under his control. Forces he needed to control, if he was to bring the Compassionate One into the Realm.
Sanjay, Cunha, Selvanna, and Zaragoth were in the Pit of Love.
It was not remembered among many that Rockrod hadn't been built simply at random. There was a reason it had been constructed where it was, on top of a tall hill. For underneath it there had been enormous deposits of Black Gold, the element rich in the Powers that sprang forth from the Roots of the Earth.
An enormous mine, nearly a vertical shaft, had been constructed at the base of the castle. Tons of Black Gold were drawn out and used for many purposes, to enhance the powers of the McMasters Impressionators. Memory of the mine faded as the Castle was built over it, and the mine itself was tapped out, but the hole was still there, in a basement under the Castle itself, a giant black hole in the middle of a chamber perhaps 500 feet long and thirty feet high, with pillars supporting the ceiling. There was no natural illumination, but hundreds of torches were on sconces on the walls and the pillars.
And yet, even without any natural light, something grew there, right next to the Pit of Love. A black, wizened tree. A tree that bore fruit. Midnight plums. They called it the Tree of Love.
Selvanna caressed the rough bark of the Tree of Love. She could almost feel the waves of Power emanating from it. Her hands moved upwards and gently caressed one of the plums. It felt a little like the wrinkled plums hanging from a man's candelabra. "It grows," she whispered, squeezing one softly.
Sanjay nodded, study the Tree of Life with keen eyes. "But it is not strong enough. It must be made to produce the Seed of Life if we are to bring the Compassionate One into the World. The tree must be fertilized."
"I will fertilize it," said Cunha, moving his right hand towards his pants.
Sanjay caught his hand, and stared into the Emperor's eyes. "No. Your candelabra will be required, but not for the first step. This requires a different kind of fertilization." He paused, looking around. "The McMasters are strong in the Power. But they are not the only ones with the power. Men with the Power attend something called the School of Magic," said Sanjay. "Women with the Power, on the other hand, are trained by the druid... Deidraphon. Both groups must be brought under our control. Both must be made to Make the Change. Only then can we begin to bring the Compassionate One into our world, and bring about the much greater, larger Inversion."
"The Inversion," Cunha mumbled reverently, bowing his head. Behind him, Selvanna and Zaragoth did the same.
********
They began with the druids.
Since the School of Magic refused to train women who had the Power, the Druidess Deidraphon took up the slack, taking any girl who showed potential under her wing. She lived in the center of the small Harbind Forest near the East Coast of the Unending Sea.
General Cloaka sent in ten of his best men. He knew what they were facing. Druids. Young girls.
"Maybe I can get one of them to sing for us," Urko, his lieutenant, chuckled as he was given the assignment.
"She'll sing all right. Right as she's riding up and down on my candelabra," said Caltus, one of his men.
But Urko, nor Caltus, nor any of the men that Cloaka sent returned.
"How could they have killed them? They're girls!" said General Cloaka.
"They have the Power," said Cunha, balancing a ball of light in the palm of his hand. "It is not quite like the Power we have, which taps directly from the Roots of the Earth, but it is the Power, nonetheless."
"Perhaps this requires a more... womanly touch," said Zaragoth, grabbing Cunha's arm possessively. "You should send Selvanna."
"That's an idea," said Cunha, giving Selvanna a small smile that made her uncomfortable.
Selvanna didn't know which bothered her more, the idea of fighting a Grand Druid, or that Cunha would think so little of her safety as to send her on such a dangerous mission.
"Dog can do it," Selvanna snapped.
Dog's eyebrows shot up.
"Send Dog," said Selvanna. "He's never failed me."
Cunha paused. He looked at Zebrah, whose face was as impassive as a block of stone. "A good idea. Dog, you can accompany Zebrah. Zebrah, take ten more men, and bring back the Druidess and her followers. Do you think you can do it?"
Zebrah drew her vorpal blade, and Dog shivered. "Does the Druidess bleed when cut?" Zebrah asked, by way of answer.
Selvanna pushed down on the wrist that held the sword. "We need the Druidess alive, if possible."
"If possible." For the first time, a hint of a smile appeared on Zebrah's face.
********
That blade.
From the first time he saw that silvery vorpal blade, Dog Man felt uneasy about it. There were swords and
there were swords
. But something about Zebrah's sword made Dog Man's heart beat quicker. He started having dreams about it; nightmares, actually, of that sharp, silver blade cutting into him. He dreamed the same nightmares, over and over, with only small variations; of Zebrah stabbing him in the chest, or cutting of an arm, or a tail, or his head.
Why would he have such dreams? Zebrah was certainly not his friend; the sullen stone cold Alkemi, by definition, had no friends. But neither had Zebrah gone out of her way to antagonize him. But somehow, by the way she looked at him, Dog Man
knew
. Someday they would come to blows. It was inevitable; he served Selvanna, and Zebrah obeyed Cunha.
Thrasher
. That was what Zebrah called it. Well, Dog's great axe had a name of its own,
Barkwood
. The time would come when
Thrasher
would meet
Barkwood
.
They walked side by side. Dog Man often found himself talking to Zebrah, which was odd, given his belief that Zebrah would try to murder him some day. And Zebrah was incredibly taciturn and moody. Getting her to say anything at all was a victory.
And yet... they were more alike than they were different. A man with a dog's head, and a woman (a White woman!) with four Wisdoms, standing over six feet tall, wearing shiny silver armor over each one of her Wise Ones, with an expression as grim as death on her face, didn't seem to have much in common with each other.
But they did. What they had in common was that they were so different from everyone else.
The others didn't attempt to hide their contempt for him. They pantomimed him fetching a stick, or baying at the moons, or sucking his own candelabra, or eating his own Forbidden Chocolate. Despite his formidable fighting skills, Dog was the subject of mockery among the other men.
Zebrah wasn't treated much better. They called her White Trash, or Quad. They invited her to suck on their Candelabras, or take off her armor and show them how her Wisdoms bounced around when she swung a sword.
The difference between them is that Zebrah didn't accept their mockery nearly as well as Dog did. When Krasno asked Zebrah to suck on his Candelabra for the tenth time, she said, "Present it."
"What?" said Krasno.
"You want me to suck on your candelabra? Present it."
Krasno turned to the other men and grinned. They all chuckled as Krasno lowered his pantaloons and held up his candelabra. In a move that was like a blur, Zebrah drew
Thrasher
and cut Krasno's candelabra in two... and the hand holding it as well. The scariest part of it though, was Zebrah's face; completely emotionless, as if she had done no more than slice a carrot.
After that, people stopped asking Zebrah to suck on their candelabras. They might not like her, but they
feared
her, which was good enough for her.
"Do you think this is a suicide mission, Quad?" Dog asked as they walked in double file, with him and Zebrah in the lead, and Cloaka's men behind them.
